Ogilvy & Mather

Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) describes itself as "one of the largest marketing communications networks in the world [servicing] more Fortune Global 500 companies in five or more countries than any other agency."

"Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide is the agency created by British-born advertising legend David Ogilvy in 1948, virtually from scratch. It now has 35 US offices and a further 359 worldwide in over 90 countries. It was the first agency into China, Korea and Vietnam and is now Asia's largest integrated network; also one of the first into Eastern Europe. Excluding specialised marketing subsidiaries, Advertising Age ranked O&M as the #11 agency network worldwide in 2002 with revenues of $589m."

Going green
In April 2008, Ogilvy "launched its new brand OgilvyEarth to better position itself in the growing green communications and brand management markets. It released results of a survey of more than 50 companies about their attitudes to green branding and the risk of green wash. More than three-quarters think having a positive environmental brand will be essential to their business case within 10 years," reported The Australian.

"While 90 per cent said they had never been accused of green washing themselves, 98 per cent said it existed in corporate Australia, and 74 per cent said it was intentional."

Partnering with China's young communists
The Wall Street Journal reported that China's Ogilvy & Mather office had formed "an unlikely marketing joint venture" with the Communist Youth League of China, called Red Force. "In exchange for helping clients including petroleum and chemical giant Sinochem Corp. and Hong Kong Disneyland make pitches to Chinese shoppers, Ogilvy has groomed more than 3,500 youth-league members in doing promotions and running a business," the Journal reported.  "Ogilvy is a member of the WPP Group plc, one of the largest communication services companies in the world. There are more than 60 companies in the group, including J. Walter Thompson, Hill & Knowlton, Ogilvy Public Relations, Millward Brown, Research International, Mindshare, and Enterprize IG. Through the WPP family, Ogilvy has access to top-rated expertise in the communications spectrum, such as design, research, public relations, identity, retail marketing, sales promotion and new media."

Fostering beer sales online
In August 2006, the Australian beer company Foster's launched a web-only advertising campaign. It included "ads on Heavy.com, a music-and-video Web site targeted at young men. ... Foster's ad agency, WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather, will also produce and post on various Web sites a series of comedic videos aimed at promoting Foster's," reported the Wall Street Journal. The web-only strategy, aimed to reach young "men legally drinking beer for the first time," was suggested by Ogilvy. The online videos are "aimed at sparking word-of-mouth buzz about Foster's, by posting videos on Heavy.com and other Web sites. The videos will look homemade to disguise the fact that they're actually commercials." 

Tobacco industry ties
Ogilvy & Mather was responsible for organizing media tours of "experts" on indoor air quality for the Tobacco Institute circa 1987. Ogilvy also contracted with the Tobacco Institute to provide public affairs consulting services aimed at helping the Instutitute fight cigarette excise taxes, public smoking restrictions and to help with coalition building issues, as well as public relations support for the Tobacco Industry Labor Management Committee. Ogilvy helped the Institute with developing strategies to fight public health efforts to reduce smoking, as well as development and implementation of various programs and maintaining contact with targeted coalition groups. 

Ogilvy & Mather also helped the tobacco industry devise ad campaigns to take the public's focus off the health hazards of secondhand tobacco smoke by broadening the issue into a larger issue of indoor air quality. O&M helped the tobacco industry re-direct attention from secondhand smoke by publicizing "Sick Building Syndrome," which blamed buildings for making people sick instead of secondhand smoke. Ogilvy devised ads promoting the notion of sick building sydrome with headlines that read, "Before you go into the office this morning, take a good,deep breath of fresh air. It could be the last you'll have all day." and "No Smoking. How do you solve the other 98 percent of the problem?"

SourceWatch resources

 * Mindy Tucker Fletcher
 * Charlotte Beers
 * Committee on Taxation & Economic Growth
 * James Savarese and Associates
 * nation branding
 * Scott Kronick - President of China Branch

Articles and other resources

 * Board Members
 * WPP Group Directory
 * Geoffrey A. Fowler, "Chinese Youth League Turns to a New Path: Madison Avenue - Ogilvy & Mather Joins Group To Promote Capitalism;A Picture of Mickey Mouse," Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2005.
 * Jim Edwards, "Ogilvy & Mather Trial To Begin", Brandweek.com, January 28, 2005.
 * Beth Herskovits, "Conviction of O&M execs prompts billing concerns", PR Week, February 28, 2005. (Sub req'd).
 * Aaron O. Patrick, "Foster's to Launch Web-Only U.S. Ad Strategy: Trademark Television Spots Are Abandoned in Hopes Of Reaching Young Males," Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), August 3, 2006.
 * Gregory Solman, "Coloring Public Opinion?," Adweek, January 14, 2008. (On BP's rebranding as "Beyond Petroleum.")

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